Patronus: A Harry Potter Fanfiction
by georgesong14
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy struggles to cope with his life in the wake of chaos left by his family. Luckily, he's got new friends: James, Albus, and Rose, who are determined to help him succeed in the world, after the war.
1. Chapter 1: The Letter

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Order of Merlin 1st class, International Confederation of Witches

Dear Scorpius Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed you will find a list of supplies and materials needed for the term.

Term begins on September First. You have until the end of July to reply regarding your wishes. We await your owl by the thirty-first.

Sincerely,

Horace Slughorn, Deputy Headmaster


	2. Chapter 2: The Train

On the magnificent day of September First, Scorpius Malfoy bid his mother, Astoria, and his father, Draco, farewell. His father had been acting strange, ever since the letter had arrived. Scorpius noted that his father was occasionally casting glances at a few other people on the platform, especially a man with round glasses, another with red hair, and their wives.

The platform itself was amazing. Running through a wall! In one of the busiest train stations in England! Scorpius had to stifle a laugh as he imagined jinxing the wall to not let people through. Though, his father had always warned him to be more moderate and friendly to people. Scorpius recalled a particular conversation from about a month ago.

_"Scorpius, you know our family name, correct?"_

_ "Yes, father, but I don't see how that relates to..."_

_ "Scorpius, you will soon. We are the Malfoys, a name tainted by mistakes. We have a long family history of being rich, but also not very nice. Scorpius, when you go to your new school, just remember to be the best person that you can be, and not to be the person they expect you to be."_

_ "Father, what do you mean? What is so bad about our family? Why did you never tell me about this?"_

_ "Son, you will learn when the time is right."_ Draco rose to his full height and then, surprisingly, kneeled back down, facing his son. _"Scorpius, make me proud. Restore our family name. Malfoy has always been a dark name. Make it stand for something better!"_

_ "Yes, father."_

What had he meant? Scorpius always figured there was something his father was not telling him. When he was young, Draco would always lecture about history to his son. Scorpius was bored of old history and the roots of magic and all that stuff. But Scorpius desperately wanted to know about the last forty years. At least he would know about what he was dealing with in modern magical times. But Draco always left out that forty year period of time, skipping from the establishment of the International Confederation of Wizards and the revolutionary Quidditch World Cup of 1966 directly to his birth. Scorpius knew that there was something dark about his father: How he hesitated before giving his son new information. Why was this?

Scorpius was shaken out of his thoughts by the high pitched whistle of the train. He lugged his owl, Caster, aboard, and started to try to find an empty compartment.

As fate would have it, there were no empty compartments, but Scorpius found one with only three people. He recognized their faces from the platform. He knocked on the door, and they waved him in. "Excuse me, but may I sit in here?"

The eldest (he looked to be the oldest, scowled, and stated, "No, you may not," quite coldly.

The other boy, one with medium long hair, pushed him. "Jamsie, what is with you today? Merlin, I haven't seen you like this since...wait, never mind, you looked like this five minutes ago when you caught Vicky and Teddy snogging. Please excuse my spoilsport brother James. I'm Albus, but you can call me Al. Albus Severus Potter. And the girl next to me is Rose."

The girl was regarding him with suspicion. She had curly, red hair, freckles, and an expression of...fear? Anger? Admiration? Disgust? Scorpius really couldn't tell. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy." He extended a hand to each of them. Albus and Rose shook it. James didn't.

"James, what is bothering you today?" That was Rose. "Why are you acting so unfriendly?"

"Because," he replied, "He is a Malfoy. Dad never told you, I reckon, but he told me all about the family. He said to not mess around with them, because all Malfoys are turncoats."

Scorpius opened his mouth in protest, but Rose beat him to it earlier. "Daddy said to beat him in every test and mum encouraged me to make nice with him. I don't see how that makes Malfoy a turncoat."

"Wait, let me get this clear." Scorpius was very confused. "I don't know about anything that you are saying. Look, my father never really told me about our family's past, either. So really, I don't see how being a Malfoy makes you a turncoat." Scorpius actually fancied himself as quite loyal and friendly, no doubt thanks to his father. "So, James, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"This," he said, pushing over a newspaper: the Daily Prophet. As Scorpius watched, the date changed from September 2017 to December 2012:

_"December 8, 2012_

_Death of a Malfoy, Rita Skeeter_

_ The whole wizarding world is left reeling today after the death of Lucius Malfoy, one of the richest men in the wizarding world, though not the most honest (check out my new biographies for more information on the wizarding war). Lucius was one of the strongest advocators for pureblood supremacy and narrowly escaped Azkaban as a deatheater with his family after a last-minute change of allegiance against the dark lord Voldemort. His wealth and home will be given mainly to his only son, Draco Lucius Malfoy._

_ It is widely acclaimed by Auror Potter that Malfoy Manor was the headquarters of deatheater activity, and subsequent investigations by the ministry confirmed that dark magic was used extensively there. However, the family was acquitted of war crimes after they pleaded blackmail and coercion. Draco is widely said to be responsible in part for the death of Albus Dumbledore (see my new biography for more information.) _

_ Harry Potter and his family had nothing to say on bitter rival's inheritance of his father's wealth, but his wife Ginevra threatened to "hex me to oblivion" should I approach their residence again._

_ In other news, Luna Lovegood, daughter of the eccentric Xenophilius and a member of Dumbledore's Army, was wed today with Rolf Scamander, grandson of..."_

"See here." James pointed to some lines of the newspaper. "It says Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy were 'bitter enemies'. Harry Potter is my father, Malfoy. He told me everything. Dad and Draco met on this very train and left bitter rivals for the remainder of his schooling. Eventually Draco turned on Dumbledore and tried to kill him, later stalling him in the Hogwarts Astronomy Tower until Severus Snape killed him. But Snape did it because Dumbledore wanted him to; in contrast, Draco did it because he became a deatheater and was ordered to..."

"Stop." That was Scorpius. "Look, I don't know about all of you, but I've never heard of any of this Wizarding War, or any old bloke named Voldemort. What the hell is a deatheater? What is this dumb old door? And most of all, how does this relate to me?"

"He's right, James." Rose spoke up. "We can't judge someone by the way their parents acted, or their family. He obviously doesn't know and doesn't care about the past, but only about the present." She gave him a nice little smile. At least she didn't hate him.

"James, you could say that blood traitors are turncoats, too. But you as much as I do that that made our mother a turncoat, and she's obviously the most loving, caring and loyal person we know." Albus was a fast thinking rascal, and he was right.

"Look, my father knows about this. But he's always tried to make me the best person I could be. He literally told me to be the best person I could be, not what others think." Scorpius was hurt, angry, and hopeless against the recent turn of events. "Look, not all of us are terrible. Yes, by the way you described it, we've done horrible things in the past. But I don't think you should judge me on the way my father or my late grandfather acted. And I still don't know what a deatheater is."

There was an awkward silence as all of the four fell into deep thought, Albus thinking about his two namesakes, Dumbledore and Snape, James thinking about the Black family and his grandfather, James Senior. Rose was busy thinking about her parents.

_"So that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test. Thank god you've got your mother's brains."_ That was her father. But then her mother came in. _"Oh, don't turn them against each other before school even begins!"_ Privately, her mother had pulled her aside to tell her to make friends with Scorpius: after all, why hold a grudge a generation old?

Scorpius was busy writing a note, to his father. He would get Caster to fly it home as soon as they got to the school:

_Dad,_

_I've met some confusing people on the train: says they're sons of Harry Potter? What is the wizarding war? What are deatheaters? And why haven't you told me about our past before? Now I'm confused, one of them called Malfoys turncoats, What should I do? At least they seem friendly. Well, the other two anyway._

_With love, _

_Scorpius_

The silence was broken by the sound of a cart being pushed outside. "Let's get some snacks," suggested Albus. "I'll pay," replied Scorpius. He reached into his pocket, and three entire gold galleons fell out, and by the sound of it, there were more in there. His face flushed, and he hurriedly picked them up, noting James' glance of disapproval, Albus' expression of bored disinterest, and Rose's face of shock and surprise. He ordered some chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, Pumpkin Latte and cauldron cakes for them all, though he had lost his appetite long ago. Conversation turned to more pleasant topics over the food, and everyone started having a conversation on what to expect at Hogwarts.

"Here, this answers your question about Dumbledore," said Albus, pushing him a chocolate frog card: Albus Dumbledore. He scanned over the facts: worked with Nicolas Flamel to produce the Philosopher's Stone, killed in the second wizarding war-there was a first? Headmaster of Hogwarts, defeated Grindelwald, and there were fun facts too: Albus Potter (he fished a glance at Albus; he caught it and stuck out his tongue at him) was named for him. This Harry Potter was a very important person, whoever he was.

The talk resumed until sunset. Scorpius noted some changes: Rose was more open, Albus was tired of talking, and James seemed nicer than when they first met. Maybe James had decided that Scorpius wasn't like Draco and accepted it. Whatever it was, he was grateful for the gesture.

The train gave a whistle, and suddenly Scorpius saw, outside of the window, a tall castle hugging the cliffs. It was huge, and as he watched, fireworks exploded across the sky, lighting the castle below. Then they disappeared into a tunnel, and when they came out again, the train was pulling to a stop at a small station, titled Hogsmeade.

They had arrived.

**Hey guys! As I said, this is a first time publication, so write reviews! They make me happy!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Sorting

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

Scorpius' first impression of the giant standing on the platform, waving the younest kids over, was that he was, well, _huge_. He was at least twice as tall as his father and seemed taller. He had a booming voice that carried across the din of the platform, and he also harbored a huge beard and hair that threatened to drown his face. His eyes were small and beetle-like, but otherwise, Scorpius felt that he was friendly, and the tone of even his voice made Scorpius feel right at home.

"Hiya there, Albus! How are yeh doin', James! Nice te meet yeh again, Rose! Eh, who's yer friend right here?" The giant boomed down on the four.

"Hello, Hagrid," Albus replied, cheerfully. "That's Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius, This is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Groundskeeper at Hogwarts."

"All right." He smiled at Scorpius, and then turned to the crowd of first years forming around them. "Everybody, watch yer steps, don' wander, an' follow me!"

The group echoed their response and started walking, away from the train station, on a well-worn path through some woods. Scorpius could still hear fireworks exploding, except they sounded a _lot_ closer now.

Hagrid hummed a tune of some sort as they walked, carelessly swinging a lantern. The rest walked o in awed silence-they were on their way to Hogwarts, _the _Hogwarts. Finally, they broke through the trees and reached the edge of a lake. The other side was the school. There were boats on the beach. With no oars.

"Four ter a boat!" Hagrid boomed out once again, and got into the biggest one. The rest looked at each other and got onto the boats.

"Um. Hagrid? How are we supposed to set off without oars?" That was another boy from another boat. Scorpius had been wondering the same thing.

"Don' worry, I got it." He drew an umbrella from his coat-egad, how big was his coat?-and tapped the ropes tying them to the rocks. Instantly, they untied themselves and the boats pushed off, acrross they lake, toward the lights.

When they reached the docks on the other side, the boats retied themselves, and the children got off, following Hagrid into a tunnel He stopped them and opened the door with his key, and when it opened, they could see a figure on the other side. "Headmaster, here are the firs' years."

"Thank you, Hagrid," replied the old lady on the other side. "I will take care of them from here."

Hagrid bowed and walked off. The old lady turned and addressed them. "I am your headmaster at Hogwarts, and also professor of transfiguration. My name is Professor McGonagall.

"At Hogwarts, you will be sorted into four distinct houses, each to match your personality traits. Their names are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.

"Hogwarts follows a point system. For everything good, a house is awarded points, and for anything bad, house points will be deducted. At the end of term, the house with the most points wins the house cup championship. The current champions are Ravenclaw."

McGonagall began walking, and the group trailed closely behind. She stopped at the end of the hall and said, "This is the Great Hall, where students and staff meet for meals." She opened the massive oak doors, and Scorpius saw a sight even more astounding than Malfoy Manor.

The ceiling rose some thirty meters above his head, where candles dangled from the ceiling. In the front, teachers sat and discussed. Above their heads was a huge coat of arms, inscribed with _draco dormiens nunquam titilandus_, the Hogwarts motto. The older students clapped when the first years came forward, and there were cheers from four tables. Above each blazed an animal: a red lion, a blue eagle, a yellow honey-badger, and a green snake. After the commotion quieted down, Professor McGonagall raised her voice.

"As is the tradition, students will be sorted into their new houses by the sorting hat." Scorpius turned and saw a frayed, slightly burned, and generally used old hat on the bench. Some of the other newcomers started to snicker. They were going to be sorted by _that_ piece of shit?

The laughter was cut off abruptly when the hat began to move and speak. Scorpius thought he may have imagined it, but the folds on the old thing turned into a face. It began to sing.

_I may not be pointy enough,_

_but I'm still sharp and tough,_

_and tonight I will gaze into your mind,_

_To sort you among your kind!_

_There once was an old lion_

_and though he wasn't tryin'_

_He really was the bravest_

_For Gryffindor is the greatest._

_And then there was an eagle_

_(though to me, she resembled a seagull)_

_She had the wits of one and all_

_And her name was Ravenclaw._

_Oh, and a friendly badger,_

_and when you look straight at her,_

_you'll realize that though not so tough_

_The friendliest was known as Hufflepuff._

_There also was a snake,_

_and cunning was his trait._

_His leadership and his ambition,_

_Set apart the one named Slytherin._

_The younger ones of today,_

_come up forth without delay,_

_For the job I have tonight and here_

_is to sort you among your peers!_

The younger students sat there, while the older ones clapped to show their respect. McGonagall cleared her throat. "I will call up students to put on the hat and get sorted." She unfurled a list. "Thomas Abernathy!"

A young, black-haired boy came forth and put the hat on. After a moment of silence, the hat shifted and said, "This one belongs in Hufflepuff!" The Hufflepuff table gave a loud cheer.

"Jessica Andrea!"

"Slytherin!"

"Karina Barton!"

"Gryffindor!"

As the hat kept on shouting, Scorpius' lost his concentration and his eyes drifted, over to someone, an adult standing in the corner. Scorpius tensed: allthe teachers were supposed to be up front, and he was fairly sure this man was not supposed to be there. Then, his vision sparked and suddenly the figure turned blinding white. When the spots cleared from his eyes, the man was gone. Had he imagined it?

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound, or rather the absence of it, of several hundred students quieting down. McGonagall read the next name without batting an eye. "Scorpius Malfoy!"

Scorpius walked up to the stool, and placed the old hat on his head, aand it began to speak to him.

"Ahh, what a perfectly complex young mind you have, boy." The hat shifted. "i sense ambition and smartness, yet also loyalty to your newfound friends, and you would do anything to save them or help them. This is an interesting choice. For the past four hundred years, every Malfoy has been sorted into Slytherin. But I think that you would do quite well in another house, particularly Gryffindor."

Scorpius could not hear himself think. Malfoy: Slytherin. Ambitious pure-blooded people. _For the past four hundred years._ Scorpius' mind flew to the conversation he'd had with his father. "_Be the best person you can be, not what everyone thinks of you."_

"Gryffindor," whispered Scorpius. "I choose Gryffindor."

The hat chuckled. "Then let it be...Gryfindor!" The Gryffindor table exploded into cheers and laughter, while Slytherin sat in shocked silence. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw clapped, unsure of what to do.

Scorpius was faintly aware of James mouthing, "attaboy!" from the Gryffindor table.


End file.
